Firefighting Family Tradition Runs Deep In OC

ORANGE COUNTY, CA — Firefighting is a family tradition that runs deep for some Orange County families, and on Father's Day Sunday, the Orange County Fire Authority paid tribute to a trio of fathers and sons within the department's ranks.

"OCFA is proud to have multiple father-son duos who have served our communities," the department wrote.

Among the families for who service is a family tradition are Chuck Barta, who retired as a fire apparatus engineer after 42 years. His son, Captain Greg Barta, has been a firefighter since 2008 and serves as a public information officer. He is a dad, too, with three kids to carry on the tradition.

Brian Stephens, a 36-year firefighter who was a founding member of the department's Air Operations Program and retired as an assistant chief in 2015, was followed by his son, Brad Stephens. The younger Stephens is currently OCFA's Senior Human Resources Analyst and has two children.

"Lastly, Marc Hawkins dedicated 41 years to the fire service and retired as a Battalion Chief.," the fire department wrote. "Two of his sons, Kyle and Scott Hawkins, are both current Fire Captains at OCFA. Kyle started as a firefighter in 2005 and has two daughters, while Scott has been a firefighter since 2008 and has four children."